Ashland February 2022
Ashland February 2022
Ashland February 2022
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<strong>February</strong> <strong>2022</strong> Find us on Facebook | <strong>Ashland</strong> Town News Page 15<br />
STABILIZE<br />
continued from page 11<br />
initiative while reducing the risk<br />
of price shocks and disruptions<br />
to our food supply as pandemic<br />
impacts continue,” saidRepresentative<br />
Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston),<br />
House Chair of the Joint<br />
Committee on the Environment,<br />
Natural Resources, and Agriculture.<br />
“I want to thank the Speaker<br />
and my colleagues for their steadfast<br />
commitment to fighting food<br />
insecurity, supporting small businesses,<br />
and continuing our leadership<br />
on animal welfare at every<br />
step of the legislative process.”<br />
An Act to upgrade hen welfare and<br />
establish uniform cage-free standards<br />
updates a 2016 law passed by the<br />
voters of Massachusetts. It would<br />
align Massachusetts’ standards to<br />
that of other states by:<br />
• Providing detailed cage-free<br />
standards that consist of one<br />
square foot of usable floor<br />
space per hen in multi-tiered<br />
aviaries, partially-slatted<br />
cage-free housing systems or<br />
any other cage-free housing<br />
system that provides hens<br />
with unfettered access to<br />
vertical space so that hens<br />
can engage in vital natural<br />
behaviors such as perching,<br />
scratching, dust bathing and<br />
laying eggs in a nest.<br />
• Ensuring protections for various<br />
types of egg products.<br />
As passed in 2016, the law<br />
applied to shell eggs, but not<br />
egg products. This legislation<br />
would also cover egg products,<br />
mirroring legislation<br />
passed in other states.<br />
The bill would also enhance<br />
market and regulatory certainty<br />
by:<br />
• Delaying the effective date of<br />
the new standards for pork<br />
products to August 15, <strong>2022</strong>,<br />
to allow the Massachusetts<br />
Department of Agricultural<br />
Resources (MDAR) ample<br />
time to promulgate, and the<br />
industry to comply with, robust<br />
regulations. The ballot<br />
initiative passed in 2016 required<br />
regulations to be promulgated<br />
2 years in advance<br />
of the effective date of the act<br />
in order to provide adequate<br />
time for affected industries to<br />
comply. This legislation gives<br />
producers not only more time<br />
to comply with the new standards<br />
but also an additional<br />
opportunity to participate in<br />
the updated regulatory process.<br />
• Updating authority for promulgating<br />
rules and regulations<br />
to include both the<br />
Attorney General’s Office<br />
(AGO) and MDAR. As<br />
passed in 2016, the law assigns<br />
to the Attorney General<br />
exclusive authority to promulgate<br />
rules and regulations<br />
as well as to enforce the law.<br />
This legislation would update<br />
the regulatory authority<br />
so that it’s shared between<br />
the AGO and MDAR. Enforcement<br />
authority would<br />
remain exclusively with the<br />
AGO. Many states with similar<br />
laws include their state<br />
department of agriculture in<br />
the regulatory process.<br />
An Act to upgrade hen welfare<br />
and establish uniform cagefree<br />
standards is endorsed by<br />
New England Brown Egg Council,<br />
The Country Hen (a major<br />
egg producer in the Commonwealth),<br />
United Egg Producers,<br />
and the Massachusetts Food Association,<br />
which notes that the<br />
language in this legislation offers<br />
a “readily available solution” to<br />
ensure retail-endorsed cage-free<br />
standards. The bill also has the<br />
support of numerous animal<br />
protection organizations, including<br />
the Massachusetts Society<br />
for the Prevention of Cruelty to<br />
Animals, Farm Sanctuary, the<br />
Humane Society of the United<br />
Townhouses Sold in <strong>Ashland</strong><br />
Number of Number of Days Average Sale Price<br />
Units Sold on Market List Price Low/High<br />
2020 85 21 $385,135 $298,000/$605,000<br />
2021 114 15 $426,600 $300,000/$621,000<br />
Source: MLSPIN<br />
Townhouses are still selling<br />
over asking in <strong>Ashland</strong>.<br />
Call us today to see what your home is worth!<br />
TheMcDermottTeam@CommonMoves.com<br />
States, Animal Rescue League of<br />
Boston, Animal Equality, Animal<br />
Outlook, The Humane League,<br />
Harvard Law School Animal<br />
Law & Policy Program, Mercy for<br />
Animals, Compassion in World<br />
Farming, and World Animal<br />
Protection—all groups that have<br />
been working to increase welfare<br />
for farm animals for decades.<br />
Text of An Act to upgrade<br />
hen welfare and establish uniform<br />
cage-free standards can be found<br />
at malegislature.gov.<br />
Karen McDermott<br />
508-272-6644<br />
Katrina MacNeil<br />
508-904-3234<br />
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